Lancashire End of Season Awards 2015

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Player of the Year:

Ashwell Prince – A remarkable season has seen Prince score 1,478 runs at an average of 67.18. His farewell season includes a career-best 261 against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay – one of two double-hundred to be hit by the South-African maestro – and his absence next season will leave a sizeable void in Lancashire’s ranks. One of only two Lancashire players to have appeared in every single game this season, Prince has made his mark across all three campaigns for Lancashire this summer. He announced his retirement after five seasons at Old Trafford during his final home game against Surrey, scoring five centuries to finish the leading run-scorer in four-day cricket from either division.

Kyle Jarvis – A broken hand has plighted what should have been a formidable campaign for the Zimbabwean fast-bowler. 62 wickets in four-day cricket at 24.47 made Jarvis the deadliest bowler in the country until injury brought his season to a premature end. Jarvis has, arguably, been Lancashire’s most improved player this year, taking four five-wicket-hauls in Championship cricket. His new-ball pairing with Peter Siddle and latterly Tom Bailey made Lancashire a formidable bowling side in the first half of the season and the Red Rose will need another strong showing from Jarvis in Division One in 2016.

Karl Brown – Lancashire’s dependable opening batsman recorded seven consecutive scores of fifty or more in four-day cricket and his pedigree for the shorter format of the game has included some memorable performances for the Lightning. Brown averaged 45.06 in four-day cricket after scoring 766 runs and his form in the T20 Blast was a vital component in Lancashire’s maiden Twenty20 trophy. With the departure of Paul Horton after 12 seasons at Old Trafford, Brown must now consider himself to be one of the more experienced players at Lancashire and use his experience to help develop the likes of Luis Reece and Haseeb Hameed at the top of the order.

Steven Croft – Consistency and leadership have epitomised Croft’s season at Lancashire. The club’s leading run-scorer (478) in the T20 format has done a superb job in the absence of Tom Smith, guiding the Lightning to Edgbaston and lifting the trophy after the disappointment of the 2014 campaign. He and Prince are the only two Lancashire players to have featured in every single match this season and his recent form in four-day cricket has seen Croft accumulate 874 runs. 

Young Player of the Year:

Alex Davies – The 21-year-old has made a significant contribution across the board this season, with his Man of the Match innings in the final of the T20 Blast standing tall and proud. Davies has developed himself into a dependable batsman in the four-day game, accumulating 730 runs before injury ended his season prematurely. Before then, Davies had hit seven fifties and averaged 40.56 He hit a List A career-best of 73 against Warwickshire at Old Trafford.

Haseeb Hameed – England’s joint captain at Under-19 level has seized his opportunity at the top of the order with both hands, recording his maiden first-class fifty against Surrey at Old Trafford. He is certainly one-to-watch for the future and following the departure of Paul Horton, his promising start to life in the first team is a welcome sight for the Red Rose County. His innings of 91 against Surrey secured a draw against Surrey, a knock which not only showed his impressive temperament for the longer format, but also his maturity for someone so young.

Gavin Griffiths – A man for the big occasion, Griffiths made his Twenty20 debut – of all places – at Edgbaston on Final’s Day. Unfazed by the grandeur of a sell-out crowd, Griffiths delivered a maiden with his very first over against Hampshire on debut, claiming 2-23 to guide Lancashire to successive finals at Edgbaston.

One-Day Player of the Year:

Stephen Parry – Lancashire’s joint-leading wicket-taker in the T20 Blast has been a consistent performer in white-ball cricket for a number of years now and he has recently been recognised by the international selectors for his reliability. Parry took 25 wickets at an average 15.68, with an economy rate of just 6.88. The left-arm spinner also took more wickets than any other Lancashire player (11) in the 50-over contest.

Ashwell Prince – The South-African veteran has made an impression across all three competitions, recording the only one-day century for Lancashire this season in the Royal London Cup against Hampshire. Prince managed 455 Twenty20 runs and his contribution in the final against Northamptonshire, alongside Alex Davies, gave the Lighting a superb start to the game.

Steven Croft – The leading run-scorer for Lancashire in the Twenty20 format, Croft gave some truly memorable performances in white-ball cricket this season. He recorded a new career-best in the T20 format, hitting 94 not out in 49 balls against Derbyshire at Old Trafford and scored 478 runs at an average of 43.45 throughout the tournament. 

James Faulkner – The World-Cup winner claimed 25 wickets in the T20 Blast and his final appearance for Lancashire was the final against Northants. Faulkner carried on bowling even after Shahid Afridi had dislocated his finger and his accumulation of 302 runs included back-to-back sixes to take Lancashire to the T20 final.

Catch of the Season:

Arron Lilley v Nottinghamshire Outlaws – Steven Mullaney thought he had guided the ball to a vacant deep mid-wicket region, only for Lilley to pluck the ball with both hands, diving through the air to take a truly memorable catch at Emirates Old Trafford. Lancashire went on to lose the game by three wickets off the final delivery of the match, but they ultimately progressed to the quarter-finals ahead of Nottinghamshire. 

Steven Croft v Birmingham Bears – The Sky cameras may not have captured this particular catch, but Croft’s one-handed grab at backward point was a magnificent piece of fielding. It was a trademark piece of fielding from the Lancashire captain, who makes these kinds of catches look easy. In the very same fixture, Croft also hit a vital 64 and took two wickets, a remarkable all-round display from the stand-in captain.

Arron Lilley/Karl Brown v Kent Spitfires – The catch which potentially signalled to Lancashire fans that their Twenty20 drought was finally over. Lilley dived through the air, catching the ball with one hand on the square leg boundary and had the presence of mind to throw the ball back in the direction of Brown. Given that it was a quarter-final match which Lancashire won on the technicality of losing less wickets, it was not only a sensational catch, but an important one too.

James Anderson v Surrey – Zafar Ansari was on 99 when Croft delivered a fairly innocuous full toss, one which offered Anderson the opportunity to dive to his left and pluck the ball with one hand. 

Prince ends career with fifty at Essex as Lancs finish second

Ashwell Prince scored his tenth half-century of the Championship campaign in his final appearance in professional cricket, as Lancashire's four-day encounter at Essex ended in a turgid draw at Chelmsford.

The South-African maestro made 51 in his final innings for Lancashire, taking his overall tally to 1,478 runs for the Championship campaign alone. Lancashire were bowled out for 310, losing their final seven wickets for 41 runs after Prince and Luis Reece (82) shared a partnership worth 81 runs.

Essex, who have finished third in the second division for two seasons in a row, made 138/3 before the players shook hands for the draw. Lancashire were already guaranteed promotion coming into this fixture, but after they and Essex failed to reach an agreement about a contrived result, the Red Rose were unable to leapfrog Surrey at the top of Division Two.

Surrey secured the second division title after holding on for a draw at home to Northamptonshire, meaning Lancashire finished with the highest number of points of any side finishing runners-up in Division Two since the division system was put in place.

Prince and Reece resumed the final day of the 2015 season with Lancashire on 131/2. The likelihood of a contrived result was doubtful given the amount of rain delays during this fixture and so Essex and Lancashire did all they could by playing the game and giving the crowd something to watch.

Reece made his first half-century for Lancashire since August of last season against Yorkshire at Old Trafford and he went on to stake a strong case for a regular spot back at the top of the order after suffering a broken hand against Gloucestershire earlier this year.

The script was set for Prince to leave his mark in superb fashion with yet another century in a superb summer for the veteran batsman and he reached fifty in only 36 deliveries with eight boundaries. Five of these fours came in succession off the bowling of Jesse Ryder, but Prince departed for 51 - two balls after reaching fifty - when he was caught by Ravi Bopara off Graham Napier.

Prince had walked onto the field to a guard of honour and the Essex fielders made a point shaking his hand after he had been dismissed for the final time in his career. The South-African has scored more than 18,000 first-class runs in his esteemed career and his five seasons at Old Trafford will leave an irreplaceable void in the dressing room.

Reece followed Prince's example by progressing to a timely half-century in 100 balls with five fours and one six and a trademark lofted six by Steven Croft (32) took Lancashire beyond 250 for a second batting point. A maiden first-class century was on the cards for the left-handed Reece, but Jamie Porter (1-63) took his four-day tally to 50 wickets for the season when he encouraged an edge to James Foster at 269/4.

This wicket signalled a harmless but somewhat prodigious collapse from Lancashire, who suffered the loss of seven wickets for only 41 runs including that of Reece before lunch. A flurry of wickets after the interval included Phil Mustard (5) who was ran out by a direct hit from Ryder, Croft who mistimed his stroke to Napier (2-49) at mid-on against Bopara's medium pace and Jordan Clark who was stumped for eight off Aron Nijjar.

Only 20 runs were added between the departure of Reece and Clark and Lancashire's collapse continued when Nijjar (2-33) added another breakthrough to his tally, bowling Tom Bailey (5) with the score at 302/8. No further runs were added to the Lancashire total by the time Glen Chapple (8) was caught by Ryder off Bopara, who finished with figures of 3 for 40 when he bowled Simon Kerrigan for one.

Essex took a first-innings lead of 84 runs after Lancashire were all out for 310 on the final day of this match and with very little time left to conjure up a result, events at The Oval were seemingly irrelevant. That being said, Lancashire's recent reputation against Essex gave a few people hope that the Red Rose County could replicate the occasion they were able to skittle Essex for 20 all out in 2013.

And when Essex stumbled to 10/2, Lancashire would have sensed an opportunity to end their season in style, even if Surrey were within touching distance of lifting the Division Two title. Essex's leading run-scorer in four-day cricket this season, Nick Browne, was the first of two casualties when he edged to Karl Brown at second slip off James Anderson, who finished with match figures of eight wickets for 90 runs.

However, the prized scalp came when Lancashire veteran Chapple accounted for England captain Alastair Cook. Chapple needs only 15 more wickets to reach 1,000 first-class victims after Cook (6) edged to Anderson in the slip cordon, meaning that Lancashire removed the England skipper for a total of seven runs across two innings.

Much like Essex's first innings, a successful start with the ball came to a halt for Lancashire, as Tom Westley (34) and Bopara added 70 runs for the third wicket. Bailey (1-48) finished his first full season at Lancashire with 35 wickets when he trapped Westley lbw at 80/3, but this was to be the final wicket taken by the Red Rose this year, as Bopara (52*) and Ryder shared an unbeaten stand worth 53 runs.

Bopara made back-to-back fifties in the final game of the season, taking 63 balls to reach an eye-catching half-century containing five boundaries and two sixes, by which stage Lancashire had decided to throw the ball to their opening batsman Haseeb Hameed and Karl Brown. It proved to be an unsuccessful yet entirely harmless exercise, as both players were hit for six in their first and only overs before the players shook hands for the draw.

Ryder finished unbeaten on 38 from only 23 balls, as the New Zealand all-rounder hit four boundaries and two sixes, although he was very nearly left red in the face if Hameed had been able to pick a difficult swirling catch out of the sky off the bowling of Brown.


Please visit this blog in the coming weeks to cast your votes for Lancashire's end of season awards. 

Many thanks for all of your support this season.

Anderson takes seven but rain weakens Lancashire title hopes

James Anderson claimed his best figures in a Lancashire shirt, collecting figures of 7-77 as he and Lancashire were able to reduce Essex to 394 on the third day of their LV=County Championship encounter at Chelmsford.

England's leading wicket-taker, who took 7-43 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 2008, has taken nine five-wicket-hauls in his last 17 appearances for Lancashire and the Red Rose County were indebted to his efforts once again.

In reply to Essex's strong first-innings total, Lancashire closed on 131/2 after teenager Haseeb Hameed (63) recorded his second half-century in as many innings in the four-day campaign, while Luis Reece made an unbeaten 25 on his first appearance for Lancashire since May, but persistent rain prevented any further play after tea.

Lancashire's already distant hopes for winning the Division Two title were, however, dealt a significant blow by Surrey's incredible progress against Northamptonshire, as the second division leaders forced their opponents to follow on after reducing Northants to 110 all out at The Oval.

That, twinned with the lack of progress in their own match, means that Lancashire are all-but guaranteed to finish second in Division Two, although they will have recorded the highest number of points by any team finishing runners-up in the second division since the division system was put in place.

Essex resumed the third day of this match on 328/7 after Jesse Ryder's century spearheaded a significant recovery from the home side. Anderson took his tally for the match to five victims when he had the Essex captain James Foster (17) caught by Karl Brown at second slip, giving Anderson figures of 5-64 at the time.

Graham Napier hit the first ball of the day for four off Anderson and then the all-rounder hit the England fast bowler into the stands for six, an approach which was like a red rag to a bull for Anderson, who responded by trapping Napier lbw the very next ball for 31.

This was Anderson's sixth wicket of the innings and it gave Lancashire their full allocation of bowling bonus points with the score progressing to 374/9. The last-wicket pairing of Aron Nijjar (17*) and Jamie Porter rallied to add 20 runs at a brisk pace, but Anderson was on hand once again to halt their enthusiasm, clipping the top of the off-stump to remove Porter for seven and end the Essex innings at 394 in the 111th over.

The dependable opening combination of Karl Brown and Hameed gave Lancashire the ideal start to their first innings, after Essex had managed to escape from being reduced to 29/3 yesterday morning. The pair added 66 runs for the first wicket, with Hameed hitting back-to-back boundaries to register the fifty-partnership in the afternoon session.

Brown was on course to reach fifty for the ninth time in Championship cricket this season, as his superb form in red-ball cricket gave Lancashire yet another assured start to the innings, but the opening batsman departed for 39 when Napier encouraged a thin edge through to Foster.

Hameed progressed to his second half-century in as many innings for Lancashire in 106 deliveries, striking eight boundaries in the process. Reece was keen to make a good impact on his return to the first team after breaking his hand in May and his determination not to give his wicket away was demonstrated by his sensible approach at the crease.

He and Hameed registered a second fifty partnership in the Lancashire innings, adding these runs in 15.1 overs, but Hameed soon fell to Jesse Ryder when Alastair Cook made his first significant contribution to the game, holding on to a routine catch at first slip with the score at 122/2.

This wicket brought Ashwell Prince (2*) to the crease, possibly for the final time in his professional career, but when players left the field for bad light - signalling an early tea interval - they never returned. The rain, which eliminated the entire first day of this game, returned during the break and caused play to be abandoned with Lancashire on 131/2.

Ryder and Bopara stand resists Lancashire title charge

A superb century from Jesse Ryder (116) and a composed 99 from Ravi Bopara held up Lancashire’s bid for a dominant second day against Essex at Chelmsford.

The New Zealand and former England international added 186 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership after Essex – who reached 328/7 by close of play – had been reduced to 29/3 in the morning session by Lancashire.

James Anderson (4-56) played a key hand on Day Two for the Red Rose and was responsible for denying Bopara his second hundred against Lancashire this season on home soil. Anderson, who claimed three wickets for 11 runs with the new ball, also removed England captain Alastair Cook with only the second ball he delivered to his international skipper in the early stages of the day.

After the first day of this County Championship match had been washed out due to persistent rain, Lancashire were hoping for positive progress on the second day of their trip to Chelmsford. Lancashire’s decision to bowl first was certainly vindicated after the home side were pegged back to 29/3 inside the first hour of the match.

The battle between England’s all-time leading run-scorer and wicket-taker - Cook and Anderson – was scheduled to be a key contest in this match, but Anderson won the conflict with his international captain, trapping Cook lbw for one in the third over of the day.

Glen Chapple, who captained Lancashire in 2013 when Essex were bowled out for 20 on home soil, then had Tom Westley caught behind by Phil Mustard without scoring. The Lancashire veteran entered this fixture needing only 18 more wickets to reach the coveted milestone of 1,000 first-class victims and he took his first-class tally to 984 wickets when he claimed the important wicket of Nick Browne.

The Essex opener became the first batsman to reach 1,000 first-class runs for the county since 2008 last week against Leicestershire with his fifth hundred of the season, but Chapple (2-64) ended his innings on 27 when he edged to Anderson at third slip, the scoreboard now reading 29/3.

Lancashire were unable to completely dominate proceedings due to a superb recovery from Ryder and Bopara, who rebuilt the innings either side of lunch with a confident and assured partnership. Ryder played Essex out of trouble the only way he knows how to; by being aggressive and playing his shots with a no-nonsense attitude.

The Kiwi all-rounder was therefore able to accelerate to his half-century in only 59 balls, hitting ten boundaries and a huge six on his way to this milestone. By contrast, it took Bopara 147 deliveries to reach his fifty, in a much more measured knock than the demonstration given by Ryder.

Bopara hit eight boundaries on his way to fifty, by which stage Essex had progressed to 171/3 and Lancashire early dominance was a distant memory. Ryder launched Luis Reece out of the ground for his second of three sixes, a maximum which lead to several of the visiting dressing room – including Ashley Giles – to attempt to retrieve the ball.

Ryder, who has represented New Zealand on 18 occasions in Test cricket, went to three figures in 115 balls, hitting 17 fours to the two sixes on his way to a commanding hundred. His determination to play expansive strokes had often ended successively and so Ryder, who hit Tom Bailey (1-68) for six the ball before, was disappointed that he played on for 116, trying to guide the ball down to third man.

This breakthrough left Essex in a comfortable position at 215/4 and Bopara, now accompanied by Ryan ten Doeschate, was able to consolidate the efforts he and Ryder had put forward throughout the afternoon session. The Essex duo added a further 95 runs to the total for the fifth-wicket stand, prolonging Lancashire’s frustration after such a devastating start to the game.

Ten Doeschate (59) followed the example of Ryder, playing with confidence as he hit six fours and one six in his 79-ball innings, while Bopara continued to favour the refined approach. Steven Croft felt the brunt of ten Doeschate’s impetus at the crease when he was clobbered into the river for six, a shot which took the Essex all-rounder to a 58-ball half-century.

The re-introduction of Anderson proved to be very crucial indeed as the Burnley-born paceman had both Bopara and ten Doeschate back in the pavilion in quick succession, restoring a degree of balance to the close of play scorecard. Anderson first had ten Doeschate caught at mid-off by Chapple for 59 and he then added the prized scalp of Bopara to his collection, denying the former England all-rounder a thoroughly deserved century.

Bopara, who hit a hundred against Lancashire earlier this season in a commanding Royal London Cup victory at Chelmsford, had been stuck on 99 when ten Doeschate got out and he failed to progress beyond this unsettling figure, edging behind to Mustard with the score at 311/6.

This was Anderson’s second breakthrough in successive overs with the new ball and he added another wicket to his collection in a rampant spell for the visitors when Mark Pettini (8) edged the ball onto his stumps, attempting to shoulder arms to Anderson in the evening session.

James Foster (8*) and Graham Napier (0*) will resume Essex’s first innings tomorrow morning, with Essex in a comfortable position after the hosts closed on 328/7, largely indebted to the efforts of Ryder and Bopara for their outstanding partnership.

Preview: Essex v Lancashire LVCC

Ashwell Prince will make his final appearance for Lancashire against Essex, as the South-African batsman aims to end his career with a memorable performance at Chelmsford.

England duo Alastair Cook and James Anderson are also available for their respective counties, as Essex host Lancashire in this important fixture, one which could decide the winner of Division Two in the LV= County Championship.

Lancashire held on for a tense draw against title-contenders Surrey in their last four-day game at Old Trafford, a result which means the Red Rose County can still win the second division title if events conspire in their favour.

Surrey, who were narrowly beaten by Gloucestershire in the Royal London One-Day Cup final at Lord’s, remain strong favourites to take the Division Two title, taking an eight-point lead into the last round of matches. They host Northamptonshire at the Oval, with the weather due to leave a significant dent on the first day of their game, as well as the match between Lancashire and Essex.

With Surrey and Lancashire both guaranteed first-division cricket next season, Essex can only play for the pride of staying in third place, although this would require a significant turnaround between Essex and Northants, who are 16 points apart in the table.

Lancashire’s emergency loan-signing Phil Mustard is due to take part in this fixture after Alex Davies failed to fully recover from a knee injury sustained at Final’s Day. It is the Durham wicketkeeper’s second appearance for Lancashire after making his debut against Surrey last week.

The last time Lancashire travelled to Chelmsford for a four-day encounter, the Red Rose made history by bowling Essex out for 20 in their second innings, the lowest first-class score since 1983.

Key Players:

Alastair Cook will make his third appearance for Essex this summer following his triumph as England captain in the Ashes series against Australia. The last time Cook played for Essex was against Gloucestershire in June in preparation a 3-2 victory over England’s oldest rivals.

The left-handed opening batsman has scored 9,330 runs in the Test arena, more than any other English player, as well as 17,305 first-class runs, including 86 half-centuries. A hundred in this match would see Cook register his 50th century in first-class cricket.

Ashwell Prince will make his farewell appearance for Lancashire after a truly remarkable season for the left-handed batsman, even by his own high standards. The 38-year-old has scored 1,427 Championship runs this summer, including a career-best 261 against Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay, as he and countryman Alviro Petersen shared Lancashire's highest ever partnership worth 501 runs. 

Prince, who is one of only two Lancashire players to have played in every single game this season, averages 67.95 with the bat and he will leave a sizeable void in the Lancashire ranks and indeed their dressing room when he retires at the end of this season. The South-African batsman has scored more Championship runs than any other player in the country and he was the first person to reach 1,000 four-day runs this summer.

Team News:

Essex 14-man squad: James Foster (c & w/k), Nick Browne, Alastair Cook, Dan Lawrence, Tom Westley, Ravi Bopara, Jesse Ryder, Ryan ten Doeschate, Mark Pettini, Graham Napier, Aron Nijjar, Jamie Porter, Jaik Mickelburgh, Jack Winslade.

Lancashire 14-man squad: Steven Croft (c), James Anderson, Tom Bailey, Karl Brown, Glen Chapple, Jordan Clark, Haseeb Hameed, Simon Kerrigan, Toby Lester, Arron Lilley, Phil Mustard (w/k), Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Luis Reece.

Match Information:

Weather and conditions: The forecast for the first day at Chelmsford leaves Lancashire with the possibility of having to force a result by other means in this game. Surrey are also due to have a rain-affected start to their clash with Northants, but a high-scoring draw – or a draw of any kind for that matter – will be sufficient if Lancashire are unable to better their result and overturn an eight-point lead. For a full weather forecast, click here.

Ground: Chelmsford

Start time: 10.30am

Umpires: TBC

Match odds (SkyBet): Essex 11/8, Lancashire 8/15

Hameed earns tense draw for Lancashire against Surrey

18-year-old Haseeb Hameed (91) led Lancashire’s final-day rearguard action against title-contenders Surrey at Old Trafford, taking the matter of the Division Two title to the final game of the season.

Lancashire closed on 195/7 after bad light had caused play to be abandoned for the day, although Surrey’s eight-point lead at the top of the second division means there is no room for error when the Red Rose travel to Chelmsford.

Hameed and Lancashire captain Steven Croft (40) added 91 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership after the home side had stumbled to 71/3 in the morning session. A maiden first-class fifty for Hameed on home soil gave the Old Trafford crowd something to be optimistic about after Ashwell Prince fell cheaply in his final game for Lancashire on home soil, although the South African batsman will be playing against Essex on Tuesday.

Lancashire started the fourth day with all ten second-innings wickets remaining, but Surrey made a rampant start to the day, knowing that victory would clinch the second division title. The wicket of Karl Brown (16) at 32/1 came with only the tenth ball of the day, as Tom Curran trapped the Lancashire opener lbw in overcast conditions.

Matt Dunn (3-46) made an immediate impact for Surrey, who were fighting for victory with limited resources in the bowling department, striking with his fifth delivery of the morning session to remove Alviro Petersen for 13. Countryman Prince came to the crease for his farewell innings in front of a home crowd, with the script suggesting another superb innings from the veteran batsman.

But, to the disappointment of the crowd, Prince could only add 11 runs to the total before edging to Kumar Sanagakkara in the slips, as Dunn collected his second scalp of the innings. Prince left the field to a standing ovation, disheartened by the fact that his final innings at Old Trafford was not as memorable as he and the home crowd would have hoped for.

Nevertheless, the impressive display given by Hameed, who was playing in only his third first-class game for Lancashire, suggests that the future is very bright indeed. The England Under-19 joint-captain faced 234 deliveries, surviving for more than five hours at the crease while many more experienced batsmen came and went.

Despite his tender age, the teenage batsman demonstrated tremendous application, adding 91 runs in his vital stand with Croft either side of lunch. Hameed edged his way to a maiden first-class fifty in 149 balls with four boundaries in the afternoon session, while Croft relieved some of the pressure with yet another superb innings.

The Lancashire skipper has scored 448 runs in his last seven Championship innings for his side at an average of 89.60 and his latest effort was invaluable in helping the home side to salvage a draw. It looked as though these two would manage to bat for the entire afternoon session, but Surrey struck a crucial blow at an important time.

Tom Curran (3-46) managed to encourage a thin edge through to Ben Foakes with the score at 162/4 just before tea, a wicket which left a great deal of pressure on Hameed’s shoulders. Phil Mustard survived the handful of deliveries before tea arrived, accompanying Hameed as he continued to soldier on.

The players returned to the field with the conditions overhead becoming progressively worse. The umpires took several readings before they decided that it was too dangerous to continue, as the players left the field for a slight delay. After half an hour and crucially for Lancashire the loss of ten overs from the game, the players returned to the field, as the match took a sour twist for the home side.

Surrey claimed three quick wickets after play restarted and including the loss of Croft before tea, Lancashire lost four wickets for 32 runs. Mustard was the first to go when his edge to Sangakkara gave Dunn his third wicket of the innings and figures of 3-35, as he more than played his part in Surrey’s bid for victory.

Tom Curran also added a third wicket to his tally when he forced Jordan Clark (3) to edge behind to Foakes with the score at 182/6, yet another vital breakthrough for Surrey, as the gloomy conditions began to return.

Lancashire’s unfavourable position in the game was worsened by the introduction of Sam Curran, who returned with the new ball and struck with his second delivery, claiming the prized wicket of Hameed when his brother Tom took the catch at leg-slip to deny the 18-year-old batsman a deserved century.

Surrey were threatening to rattle through the Lancashire lower order, but bad light halted the visitor’s late bid for victory, as Arron Lilley (5*) and Tom Bailey (1*) left the field for the final time at Old Trafford this season.

An eight-point lead at the top of the table means that Surrey are still firm favourites to claim the Division Two title, but victory at Essex would give Lancashire a good chance of snatching it from the side who denied them success in the first division in 2007 at The Oval.

Surrey will host Northamptonshire in the final round of matches on home soil, while Lancashire’s trip to Chelmsford sees a farewell appearance for Prince before he retires from all forms of the game.

Lancashire set 492 to win after Sangakkara century

Lancashire face an interesting final day against Surrey at Old Trafford and the Red Rose could salvage a vital draw if they are able to bat the entire fourth day with all ten second-innings wickets intact.

Surrey eventually declared on 283/7 setting Lancashire a mammoth target of 492 to win the game, although their declaration came much later than many would have predicted, as the hosts survived the seven overs remaining on Day Three without losing any wickets, closing on 22/0.

If Lancashire are able to earn a draw on the fourth day, then they would take on Essex at Chelmsford with the Division Two title very much up for grabs. The Red Rose county were in a spot of bother when Sri Lankan veteran Kumar Sangakkara (118) posted the 54th century of his first-class career, but Steven Croft’s four wickets halted their progress and inevitably delayed their declaration.

The third day began with Lancashire fighting to post a competitive first-innings total and perhaps avoid the follow-on, although Surrey decided not to enforce the follow-on, even when they bowled Lancashire out for 273, with Surrey taking a lead of 208 runs.

Sam Curran (5-67) claimed his second five-wicket haul of the season, but a superb last-wicket partnership between James Anderson – who hit a Lancashire career-best score of 42 – and Simon Kerrigan (23*) worth 65 runs kept the Old Trafford faithful in good spirits after a disappointing morning with the bat.

Ashwell Prince was always likely to be Lancashire’s best chance of keeping a rampant Surrey attack at bay, but when he departed for 45 to Tom Curran (3-54) it looked as though Lancashire would soon be facing the follow-on. His edge to Sangakkara at 153/6 was a vital breakthrough for the visitors, but a sturdy stand between Jordan Clark and Arron Lilley ensured that Lancashire would collect at least one batting point from the game.

Their partnership worth 48 runs was moving along at a brisk pace, but Lancashire’s progress was halted by three quick wickets which fell for the addition of only six runs. Clark (29) was judged lbw to Sam Curran to a delivery that seemed to hit the Lancashire all-rounder particularly high and Surrey made good use of this breakthrough when Tom Bailey had his middle-stump removed the very next ball.

Having batted so well in the company of Clark, Lilley then went for an expansive shot into the leg-side, but he could only find Matt Dunn at short mid-wicket, who took a good diving off Gareth Batty (2-86) to leave Lancashire in a desperate position at 207/9.

But Anderson and Kerrigan were not going down without a fight and used the freedom of the situation to play a flurry of elegant strokes to entertain the home crowd and give Lancashire a second batting point. Anderson opened his account with the first of seven fours, before clobbering Batty for six with a sweep-slog to the longest boundary on his way to a new highest score for Lancashire.

Kerrigan made good company and demonstrated his usefulness as a tail-end batsman, hitting three fours of his own, as he and Anderson added 50 runs in only 66 deliveries. Lunch was delayed by half an hour due to the success of Lancashire’s last-wicket stand, but Surrey were finally able to bring the innings to a close when Anderson was bowled for 42 by Tom Curran.

Despite their impressive first-innings lead of 208 runs, Surrey decided not to make Lancashire bat again, hoping that a daunting fourth-innings total and the opportunity to bowl last on a turning wicket would give them the edge they needed to win the game and also the Division Two title.

Surrey went out with the intention to score runs quickly and that is exactly what they did. Rory Burns and Ben Foakes – who was opening in place of the injured Zafar Ansari – added 42 runs for the first wicket inside only six overs, but Foakes (14) was trapped lbw by Bailey (1-33) with the final ball of the sixth over.

Burns and Sangakkara continued to accumulate runs quickly, as Surrey’s already-commanding lead became more and more impressive. They added the first fifty runs of their 108-run stand in only 62 balls and as their confidence increased, so to did the run rate.

Sangakkara in particular was looking in very dangerous form, as he caressed the ball around the field with ease, allowing him to progress to fifty in 62 deliveries. He and Burns reached the hundred-partnership in just 111 balls and so Kerrigan’s breakthrough proved to be crucial to Lancashire’s ability to restrict the flow of runs when he removed Burns for 44.

The Surrey opener guided the ball into Anderson’s safe hands for a far simpler catch than the one he had to take to deny Ansari a century in Surrey’s first innings, but Sangakkara was making light work of the Lancashire attack as he went on to make his fourth century of the campaign.

He reached three figures in 115 balls shortly after tea, striking Kerrigan for consecutive boundaries, taking his overall tally to 13 fours in a confident and assured innings for the visitors. The Sri Lankan batsman added another useful partnership worth 60 runs with Steve Davies (21) for the third wicket, but Surrey’s progress started to falter when skipper Croft came into the attack.

Croft, who finished with figures of 4-35 in 7.1 overs, removed Sangakkara and Davies in a rare spell of success for Lancashire, one which delayed Surrey’s decision to declare despite a strong overall lead. Davies was first to fall when he was caught by Kerrigan, as Croft struck with the fifth ball of a new spell.

Spin partner Arron Lilley (1-82) then forced Jason Roy (5) to scythe the ball onto his own stumps with the score at 217/4. Croft’s success continued when he removed Sam Curran for a duck, as he encouraged sharp turn and an outside-edge through to Anderson, the second wicket to fall for the addition of only one run.

Croft then took his third wicket in less than four overs when he accounted for the dangerous Sangakkara, taking a sharp return catch off his own bowling to remove the veteran for 118. These wickets had hampered Surrey’s outright dominance, although it would be easy to criticise the visitors for not declaring sooner with their lead already extended to 451 by the time Sangakkara was dismissed.

A fourth wicket for the Lancashire captain eventually signalled the Surrey declaration when Tom Curran was bowled for 19, leaving Gary Wilson unbeaten on 30. Surrey’s second-innings total of 283/7 set Lancashire an improbable target of 492 to win the game, although Lancashire would happily take the draw after Surrey had batted on for marginally too long.

Karl Brown (12*) and Haseeb Hameed (10*) will resume tomorrow morning for the home side on 22/0, as they look to bat for the rest of this game and salvage a draw to deny Surrey an easy ride for the title.